Bures-raised Formula One driver Alex Albon set to make Red Bull debut at Belgian Grand Prix this weekend

Seven years after being dropped from their young driver programme, Alex Albon will make his debut for Red Bull in Spa this weekend.

The Bures-raised driver was signed up to Red Bull’s Junior Team programme in 2012, but was axed at the end of the year after finishing 17th in the Formula Renault 2.0 Alp series and 38th in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 series.

The former Littlegarth School pupil then finished third in last year’s Formula 2 Championship, which led to a return to Red Bull and a seat at Toro Rosso in Formula One this season.

Albon has impressed in his maiden F1 campaign, picking up 16 points from 12 races, and has replaced Pierre Gasly in a straight swap from Toro Rosso to Red Bull ahead of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix.

“Back then (in 2012) I was not driving very well, and there was no reason to keep me on board, so there’s none of that (bitterness about being dropped),” Albon told the official F1 website.

“It’s nice that I’m a surprise to most people, I would almost, in a way, wish it wasn’t a surprise!

“But it’s nice that people are happy with how it’s going.”

A press release from Red Bull said: “The team will use the next nine races to evaluate Alex’s performance in order to make an informed decision as to who will drive alongside Max (Verstappen) in 2020.”

Sunday’s race at Spa is the first of four races in September, with the season taking in Italy, Singapore and Russia over the next four weeks.